Summary:Late Antiquity and afterwards Early Byzantine fortress
Gradina in the village of Postenje (fig. 1:1-3) was built on the
northern slopes of Rogozina Mountain (c. 780 metres
altitude) in South-West Serbia. Found within the fortress and
surrounded by a wall were about thirty objects, the oldest dating from the 3rd century. The settlement was destroyed at the end of the 6th or the beginning of the 7th century. The
majority of glass finds from Gradina in the village of Postenje,
as well as other moveable archeological material, originate from the objects made during the 6th century, the time of
Justinian's reconstruction of the fortress. Window pane
fragments were found both in churches and in profane
objects. Out of a total of about 100 fragments of glass vessels,
the largest number is the parts of bowls and goblets from
which is distinguished the many different types. The smaller
number is the fragments of bottles and lamps. Although the
highest number of glass fragments is found to belong to the
period of the Emperor Justinian I, some vessels could have been in use even before the 6th century. Over a longer period of time, during Late Antiquity (4th – beginning of 5th century), up to and including the Early Byzantine period (6th century), hemispherical bowls with deeper receptacle (fig. 2:3-4),
hemispherical beakers (fig. 3:1-4), conical goblets (fig. 3:5),
stemmed goblets or lamps (fig. 3:6-8) and jugs (fig. 4:1-3)
could have been used. All these vessels have similarities with the materials of this period, of the 4th / 5th century and the 6th century. While hemispherical bowls and beakers are most common during the 4th and early 5th century, some have been found on some sites of the 6th century. On the territory of Serbia, conical goblets are found in the 4th and the 4th / 5th
century layer on all other sites except Gradina on Jelica where
they were found in the 6th century layer. In contrast, although
a larger number of stemmed goblets or lamps was found on Early Byzantine sites in the 5th / 6th and the 6th century layer, a smaller number dates from the 4th century. On all other sites,
except Early Byzantine fortress Gradina on Jelica,
hemispherical bowls with shallow receptacle (fig. 2:1-2) date from the 4th century. On the territory of Serbia, all conical
receptacle lamps with hollow stem date exclusively from the 6th century, Caricin grad being the site where the highest
number of lamps with hollow stem was found. Apart from
hemispherical lamps with deeper receptacle, on sites in Serbia
there are no examples of lamps with shallow receptacle as
those found in Gradina in Postenje. However, judging by the
similar examples from the Black Sea, they also could have been used in the settlement during the 6th century. Glass lamps
have been found both in sacred and profane objects in
Gradina in Postanje.
Judging by the high number of glass vessels in Gradina in Postanje that is present on a number of sites during the 4th century and the beginning of the 5th century, and in some of the 5th and the 6th century layers too, the continuity of life can be proven in Gradina in Postanje in the 5th century, though this
horizon has not been established yet on this site in
architectural pre–building and restoration of objects. The
limited number of vessels of a simple type and of a relatively
uniform glass colour in Gradina in Postanje indicates local
production. Though it has not been proven yet in the
settlement itself, local production could have existed, as in
some settlements of Late Antiquty – Mitrovica / Sirmium,
Gamzigrad / Romuliana – or as in some Early Byzantine
settlements (In Caricin grad, for example, a group of bricks are
in situ in a circular or semi-circular shape, which might have
been a part of a furnace; furthermore, fragments of a massive
dome-shaped vessel that might have been part of a retort were
also found, which could serve as proof for the existence of
glass making. In Gornji Streoci on Kosovo the raw materials
for glass making were found).
Gradina in Postanje is one of a large number of hillside
settlements that have been identified on the territory of
Serbia, but glass is found on and published about only a few.
Although a relatively small number of glass vessel types have
been found in Gradina in Postanje, similar types have been
found in other Late Antiquity and Early Byzantine sites in
Serbia and neighbouring countries (Bulgaria, Romania,
Greece), where an assortment of similar glass vessels were
used.